Greenville City Manager to Speak to HBA Members

The Legislative Committee of the HBA of Greenville will host a Government Affairs Forum on Wednesday. The speaker will be City Manager John Castile of the City of Greenville. Castile will discuss the city and steps he has taken in his new position to improve the city. The meeting is open to members of the HBA. You can read Castile’s bio by clicking on this link.

What: Government Affairs Forum
When: Wednesday, October 27, 8:30 a.m.
Where: HBA of Greenville Office, 5 Creekside Park Court, Greenville
Sponsor: Quinn-Satterfield

Coffee and Danishes will be provided compliments of our sponsor, Quinn-Satterfield. Please plan to attend.

It is not about supply and demand...it is about who can get a loan

"The fundamentals today are financial fundamentals," Everett Allen Greer, managing member of Greer Advisors in Los Angeles, said. "They have nothing to do with supply and demand. ... It’s everything to do with who can get a loan and who can’t."

Read the rest of the article in the Charleston Regional Business Journal by clicking here.

Former Fed Vice Chair Sees Stronger Growth Coming

From Nation's Building News:

Economic growth will pick up next year and even more after that as headwinds standing in the way of a stronger recovery begin to abate, former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn told the Urban Land Institute in Washington, D.C. on October 15.

Painting a picture that was not entirely rosy, "we are in for a slow climb out of a deep hole with inflation remaining low for some time into the future," said Kohn, who is currently a fellow at the Brookings Institution.

Among the challenges still facing the economy, he said that lending requirements remain stringent and borrowing is very tight for small businesses and households; it will still take time to work through the overhang of housing from foreclosures, short sales and the shadow inventory; and the economies of major industrial trading partners of the U.S. are still hurting.

Read the entire article in Nation's Building News by clicking here.

FDIC Chair Says Restoring Health of Real Estate "Crucial"

Nation's Building News Report:

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chairman Sheila Bair on October 13 cited encouraging signs for housing but also indicated that recovery of the real estate sector will take time and that the home finance system will have to be restored and taken off government life support.

"The economy is now recovering, but progress is slow, and the effects of the recession — including high unemployment — are likely to persist for some time," said Bair.

"Once again, the health of the real estate sector will be crucial in determining the path of the entire economy," she said. "Restoring stability and normalcy to residential and commercial real estate markets will be essential to establishing a more robust economic recovery. But we still have a lot of work to do to repair our system of mortgage finance."

Read the entire article in Nation's Building News by clicking here.

Building Permit Trend Report is Positive for Greenville County

Building permits are trending up in 2010 for Greenville County according to a report of building permit trends just released.

The Market Edge, a Knoxville, TN, firm, published the report.

The report found that building permit activity in the first three quarters of 2010 were up in Greenville County 11.2 percent compared to the same period in 2009. By comparison, Pickens County is down 25 percent, Laurens County is down 2 percent, Oconee County is down 18 percent, Spartanburg County is down 8 percent, Greenwood County is down 6 percent, and Anderson County is down 15 percent.

While permit activity in Greenville County in 2010 is on track to exceed 2009, most of the increase can be attributed to the New Home Buyer Tax Credit. Since the tax credit expired earlier this year, building permits have dropped 36 percent from the first quarter to the third quarter.

You can read the permit report by clicking here.

Burdensome 1099 Reporting Requirements Expanded to Independent Landlords

In addition to providing tax breaks that will benefit small businesses this year and next, the recently enacted Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 expands Form 1099 information reporting requirements for independent landlords as of Jan. 1, 2011.

This is the most recent change to the 1099 reporting requirements, which were expanded by the health care reform law to require businesses to provide information on corporations they paid $600 or more in a given year. It has been estimated that this could increase the number of 1099s small businesses must file from approximately 10 to almost 100 per year.

NAHB has submitted comments to the Treasury Department opposing the new rule, and is working within a large coalition of business groups to seek congressional repeal. Unlike the independent landlord provision, the health care reform legislation's requirement does not take effect until Jan. 1, 2012.

The new 1099 requirement in the small business legislation expands 1099 reporting to independent landlords. Under prior law, taxpayers whose primary trade or business was rental real estate — such as owners of multifamily apartment buildings — were subject to standard reporting requirements. However, taxpayers whose primary trade or business was not rental real estate — such as owners of a second home used for rental purposes — were not subject to 1099 reporting requirements.

The small business legislation changes the law so that independent landlords must now submit 1099s to businesses with which they have more than $600 of annual business.

NAHB will continue to oppose all the expansions of the 1099 requirements because they are administratively burdensome for small businesses.

For more information, e-mail Robert Dietz at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8285.

Southern Home and Garden Show

Michael Weishan, gardening and landscape expert and former host of the Victory Garden on PBS, answers questions from the audience during the 2010 Fall Southern Home and Garden Show.

Mark you calendar now for the 50th Southern Home and Garden Show March 4-6, 2011, at the Carolina First Center.